Spark Challenge Winners
Past Award Recipients
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2024 Winners
1st Place – NephroGuard
Kidney injury diagnostic device
2nd Place – AT-AT
Staircase-accessible walking aid
3rd Place – Bloom Speculum
Four-blade LEEP speculum
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2023 Winners
1st Place – The Better Board
The Better Board is an emergency transport backboard that uses moveable restraints and size-expanding panels to allow for patients from newborn to 6'6" tall and 450 lbs to be restrained safely. The Better Board also incorporates an addition to raising the shoulders of patients to put them in a neutral position.
Team Members: Molly Turk, Pramita Suresh, Ellie Hatcher, Haley Swank, Harrison Miller
2nd Place – Flydration
Flydration provides Boeing airplanes with a “smart” potable water supply that can be used on Boeing airplanes. Flydration is a galley insert that contains an easily removable and long-lasting large particle filter and a small particle filter. As a result, the water output is clean and tastes better than the current water on airplanes.
Team Members: Victoriana Malvoso, Logan Shay, Reilly Boros, Taylor Stamos, Emma Gaugler
3rd Place – SeaTree
A portable beach organizer designed to keep sand off your belongings.
Team Members: Megan DeGrezia, Michael Whatley
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2022 Winners
1st Place - CatheSure
CatheSure is a device that detects hydrocephalus shunt malfunctions in children. Hydrocephalus is fluid buildup in the cavities of the brain. The excess fluid increases the size of the ventricles and puts pressure on the brain. More than one million Americans suffer from the condition. The most common treatment is the surgical insertion of a drainage system or shunt. Unfortunately, these shunts have a 70 percent failure rate, with 40 percent failing in the first year — and the symptoms of a shunt failure are often vague, usually similar to the common flu. Currently, the only way for doctors to diagnose a shunt failure is with invasive and expensive brain surgery.
The CatheSure is a pressure sensor that wirelessly detects a shunt malfunction in hydrocephalus patients in under five minutes to non-invasively determine if there is a shunt blockage or malfunction. The use of the device will streamline the diagnostic process and prevent unnecessary exploratory brain surgeries, prolonged hospital stays and repeated radiation exposure.
Team Members: Kathleen Fallon, Allison Reichart, Jordan Suzanna Cole, Sarah Anne Stevens and Karly Faith Ripple
Second Place - HUMCAT
HUMCAT (Hybrid Ultraviolet Modular robot for Cabin Autonomous Treatment) incorporates Ultraviolet-C light and electrostatic spray disinfection simultaneously to autonomously disinfect commercial aircraft cabins, which reduces flight turnaround time and disinfection costs, with the goal of reestablishing customer trust in airline safety following COVID-19.
Team Members: Donny Toner, Kenneth Graham, Rachel Green, Zach Hubbarth and David Nurminen
Third Place - Apply-Away
Apply-Away is an online job application manager that allows people to better track/manage job applications.
Team Members: Parth Patel and Rick Kakanou
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2021 Winners
1st Place - Nature's Gift
Nature’s Gift is a reusable tampon applicator that will be cheaper and more comfortable to use than its competitors and help keep waste out of landfills. It would include an insertion sheath and rod made of hygienic material. The product would cost $25 and come in two sizes to accommodate cotton inserts with various levels of absorbency, ranging from light to ultra. Nature’s Gift was also selected to represent Clemson University in the 2021 ACC InventurePrize Competition, and competed against entrepreneurial teams from across the ACC.
Team Members: Claudia Sisk and Marissa Jansen
2nd Place - Third Bar: Victuals
Milan Shah, Vineeth Sama and Anish Chaluvadi won second place for their product, Third Bar: Victuals.
3rd Place - NewsChord
Parth Patel took the third-place prize for his product, NewsChord.
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2019 Winners
1st Place - Freedom Fence
Freedom Fence is the first pet containment system that allows a user to create a completely custom boundary for the pet wherever they would like, as large as they require, and it is completely portable. This device will completely revolutionize the way people manage their pets’ lives.
The Freedom Fence is designed with the suburban and rural consumer in mind and also anyone who enjoys taking their pets camping, hiking, or to similar activities. It consists of a dog collar for tracking the animal’s location/activity levels and a cellphone application to control the fence parameters and the dog collar. Not only can you create a perimeter around where you live or vacation, but you could also use it as a temporary boundary at a campsite or around a hiking trail.
2nd Place - Mailroom
Instead of waiting around all day for your package or dealing with porch pirates, send it to a Mailroom near you. Mailrooms are trusted small businesses in your neighborhood that are available throughout the day to receive your package so you can pick it up whenever you’re free! For just $2.50 you can guarantee the safety of your package, and pick it up whenever is convenient for you.
3rd Place - Telemetry
Telemetry is a framework that allows small business owners to quickly develop chatbots for their customer service systems. We are a Software as a Service (SAAS) company that aims to reduce call time for small business with the intention of reducing business costs overall. Our chatbot leverages existing technology to create phone-based chatbots that are quantifiably better than other traditionally used customer service interaction models.
